The Day of Holocaust Remembrance and Prevention of Crimes against Humanity is an international remembrance day to commemorate all victims of Nazi regimes during World War II.

The commemoration programme was organised by Škurinje elementary school in cooperation with the Jewish Community of Rijeka, which for many years has been the promotor of the Saffron project, that aims to acquaint students with the facts about the Holocaust and the dangers of discrimination, prejudice and intolerance. A minute of silence was observed in honour of all Holocaust victims, and stones were laid at the monument according to Jewish custom, in memory of all victims.

stones were laid on the monument according to Jewish customs, in memory of all victims.

Pupils attending Škurinje elementary school and the school’s choir took part in the commemoration programme, in the presence, among others, of the mayor of Rijeka, Marko Filipović, and members of the Jewish Community of Rijeka.

“From Rijeka, on this day, as every year, we send a message of tolerance, understanding and togetherness. By learning history lessons we are actually learning for the future and I am glad that the staff and pupils of Škurinje elementary school organise a programme to mark this day every year because it is important to introduce children to historical facts about one of the greatest crimes in human history. It is up to us to remember the victims, but also not to allow something like this to ever happen again” said Rijeka mayor Marko Filipović in his address, adding that it is important to respond to violence in our environment, respond to any inappropriate graffiti that can be connect with this theme, to every swastika or Ustasha symbol. “These are symbols of the regime that we do not want to be repeated in the future,” concluded the mayor.

Commemorating this day is not only important for the Jewish community but for our entire society, because I believe that no one was left emotionally untouched by the Holocaust tragedy,” said the vice president of the Jewish community of Rijeka Rina Brumini.